Contrary to national targets, obesity is on the rise. According to two studies, prevention messages do not help combat this scourge.
Has the “Manger Bouger” campaign borne fruit? This is what the students of the Grenoble School of Management (Isère) wondered. During a conference in Paris, the head of research, Carolina Werle, reported on the results… to say the least surprising.
Obesity is on the rise
Faced with the evolution of obesity in France, the government has implemented prevention strategies. They insist on a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle, especially among young people. But knowing good practices does not mean applying them.
Contrary to what one might think, the campaigns did not achieve their objectives, namely to reduce obesity in the country. The ObEpi-Roche surveys, carried out regularly, make it possible to observe the evolution of the number of obese people in France. The “Manger-Bouger” campaign and the National Health Nutrition Plan were launched in 2001. The previous year, obesity affected 11.3% of the adult population according to the ObEpi study, in 2012 it affected 15% of the adult population. population.
The effect is opposite
Why is the “Manger Bouger” campaign not working? Two studies conducted on students and high school students observed the impact of preventive slogans on this audience. Students observed a photo of the famous BigMac, the burger star of the McDonald’s chain. Some posters contained a campaign slogan, others did not. After the test, participants were able to choose as a reward a voucher for an ice cream or a bag of fresh fruit from the chain.
The health message has not borne fruit. Worse, notes Carolina Werle: it had the opposite effect to that expected. More students who saw the slogan chose ice cream (82%) than those who didn’t (65%). The explanation of this paradox is very simple for this marketer. The health slogan acts as “a justification for hedonistic consumption”: it conveys positive values around the product. Consequence: instead of being rejected, young people are attracted to products with preventive messages.
Badly chosen arguments
A second experiment was carried out with high school students in a Priority Education Zone (ZEP). She studied the effectiveness of a health slogan versus a social slogan. Once again, playing on the “health” aspect is inconclusive. On the other hand, emphasizing the negative aspect of being overweight in society is paying off. The argument “too much form, not in form!” “Was less well integrated than the one stating that” balanced meals, friends at will! “
This time again, it is the image conveyed that affects adolescents. “Current campaigns focus on the health argument and neglect the social argument, while adolescents are particularly sensitive to social norms and the influence of their peers,” analyzes Carolina Werle.
This observation confirms what we already suspected, in the light of studies around anti-smoking campaigns. Adolescents ignore the health aspect of a prevention message. They are even more attracted to a message that claims to be repellent: a product that we are trying to ban will have more appeal.
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